Herfindahl index for credit institutions in the Benelux region 2013-2018, by country
The banking sector in Belgium has two important characteristics. First, banking is deemed an important part of Belgian culture with a relatively high number of bank offices in the country. In 2015, for example, the total number of offices of banks established in Belgium reached 4,519 in the Flemish region. Second, the Belgian banking landscape has the presence of several big non-Belgian banking concerns, notably Dutch bank ING and France-based BNP Paribas. In 2016, BNP Paribas Fortis, BNP Paribas' Belgian daughter, reached a phased-in Common Equity Tier 1 (CET 1) ratio of approximately 14 percent.
Luxembourg is an international financial center in the European Union, with over 140 international banks having an office in the Grand Duchy. The fund industry is one of the largest in Europe. In 2016, for example, the total value of investments in private equity companies in Luxembourg amounted to approximately 465 million euros.
In the Netherlands, a few large institutions dominate the domestic financial markets. In 2015, for example, the five largest Dutch credit institutions, which include ING, Rabobank and ABN Amro, held approximately 85 percent of the total assets. The Dutch banking sector, consequently, is one of the most concentrated in Europe.